Hey everyone! If this is your first time reading my blog, my name is Sydney, and I am a freshman in high school. I work with the YMCA and am very passionate about serving children in my community.
Recently, I have been accepted to attend a mission trip across the world in Jerusalem, Israel. As you may guess, I have been happy-dancing a lot lately. With great privilege comes great responsibility, though. In order to attend this trip, I must fund raise $3,000. I have been raising money by selling brownies and cookies, I have also sent out a lot of letters to friends and family. For giving point, I will be opening a project to also raise money on here.
If you read the title of my article, which you probably did, this article does focus on stress. Ironically enough, my health class has been talking about stress for the past two weeks, where it comes from, and how to deal with it. Lucky for you, I'm going to give you the skinny on it. Stress comes from a stressor, and how you react to it causes stress. When stress is recognized, adrenaline rushes through your veins, giving you the ability to fight the stress until you are fatigued. As you can imagine, stress is incredibly stressful, and my little essay here is on how to deal with it.
I have had a lot of stress lately. Teachers are cracking down with only so many weeks left of school, I have my fair share of family issues, my parents want me to get a job, and I have to raise all of my mission trip money by April. Trust me, all of this is easier said than done. I have to stay very organized and spend my time wisely, which is difficult for me because I am very easily distracted. The organization is not what kills me, though. Stress build-up is what really attacks me. Those of you who know me well know that I am a procrastinator. This doesn't mean I'm a slacker though. I'll do everything in my power to get what I need to do finished, I’m just going to do it later.
Stress is a lot like a weed, as my health teacher says. If you don't go out and pull them, the roots will get deeper, and it will get more difficult to deal with the problems. I personally believe this man has just summarized my life into one phrase, but that's not my point here. The best thing for you to do when stress arrives is to just knock it down. Stress is also like that old game 'Tetris'. The items build on top of each other. In order to stay organized, you must carefully plan where everything is placed. Staying organized is what keeps me sane, and helps you win that videogame!
What about when the stress is too much, even when you tackle things and stay organized? That, my friends, is when it is time to decompress. I am about to tell you a secret that very few people know. When I'm stressed, I turn off the lights in my room, turn on some dirty rap music, and dance around like an idiot. Trust me, it works. On the other hand, when I return to normalcy, I just go for a run.
Well, everyone, that's all I have to tell you for today! Thanks for reading!

-Sydney